


The stars

by Evetka



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt Danny "Danno" Williams, Hurt Grace Williams, M/M, Post-Episode: s10e22 Aloha (Goodbye)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:54:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27617242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evetka/pseuds/Evetka
Summary: Set after the finale.After Danny told his kids that Uncle Steve left, Grace is hurt because he left without saying goodbye to her and her little brother. Danny had to comfort her despite being hurt himself.For now it's one shot, but maybe it'll continue, who knows.
Relationships: Danny "Danno" Williams & Grace Williams, Steve McGarrett & Danny "Danno" Williams, Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 8
Kudos: 45





	The stars

**Author's Note:**

> I have to apologize, but I have a horrible block finishing my first story. But there are these different scenes that are still popping in my head, just like this one about Danny and Grace that I had the need to write down. Most likely, there is probably a similar story posted here already, I honestly don't know. I also don't know if this short story is in character or totally OOC, if it's good or an absolute s**t. I tried to work with facts we were given through the years and put it together to make it somehow believable. This story could've been a little bit longer, but then it would work only with another scene that I have in my head that I didn't write yet. Sometimes I think I should write about the rest, too, but I'm not sure. I'm not a native speaker, so my English is very simple (so very sorry for mistakes), I'm pretty sure the dialogues are not natural as they should be (unfortunately, I don't have a beta), but maybe someone would like to read something like this... 
> 
> Discl.: I don't own anything H50 related.

###### Danny's house, the night

Making sure she wouldn't wake up her little brother, Grace quietly closed the door behind her as she left her room in search for her dad. She couldn't go to sleep without talking to him first. She glanced into her father's bedroom. "Dad?" she whispered only to find it empty which made her frown. She turned and went to the living room. Narrowing her eyes as the light was very dim, she was looking around, but she couldn't see her father anywhere. "Danno?" she whispered again, but got no response. Then she turned to the lanai and her heart clenched. He was there. He was sitting there quietly and alone. She figured it must've been quite cold outside now, so she returned to her room to find a hoodie she then put on herself and then, while going back to the lanai through the living room, she grabbed a blanket that was folded on a sofa. Then she stopped in front of the sliding patio door to the lanai and watched her dad for a few seconds. 

Almost in complete darkness as the outdoor light above the door was providing only very dim light, Danny was sitting there in a chair, his legs crossed at his ankles, his cane bent against a small table, a glass with water in his right hand. In all honesty, right now, he would've given anything for a real drink and it didn't matter whether it would've been beer, vodka or Scotch. He just wanted to drink himself to a merciful sleep - and, at this moment, to the hell with all those warnings saying that combining alcohol and meds isn't a good thing. However, as a father, he would've never, ever, drink with his kids being around, so, he was just sitting there, most of the time staring somewhere into the distance, only occasionally looking into the limpid liquid that was filling the glass he was probably unknowingly fidgeting with. 

Grace pressed the blanket tightly to her chest, and quietly opened the door to the lanai. "Danno?" she whispered, but didn't get any attention. She could say her dad was not lost in his thoughts, though. He was just lost. Period. There was this sadness written all over his face while emptiness was reflecting in his eyes. 

"Danno?" she said again, a little bit louder this time. 

"Hm?" Danny jerked as he returned to the reality. "Hey, Monkey. Why aren't you sleeping?" he said, surprised to see his daughter standing in the doorway with a blanket in her hands. "It's pretty late... Did I wake you up? I'm really sorry if I woke you up, honey," he immediately apologized.

"No, don't worry. I don't feel like sleeping," she reassured and, without being told so, she put the blanket over her dad's shoulders. 

"Thank you, honey," Danny smiled at her and adjusted the blanket around himself. To this moment, he didn't even realize how cold outside it actually was. "You wanna sit down and maybe make me a company for a while?" he smiled at her. 

Glad he didn't ask her to leave him alone, Grace drew the second chair as close as possible, so they could sit side by side now. "Why aren't you sleeping, dad?" she wanted to know. "You can't sleep?" she added, worried.

"What? No, no, no," he shook his head while putting the glass he was holding down on the table, refusing to admit the truth, and looked up to the night sky above them instead. "I mean, look at it. It's just one of those beautiful nights when the sky is so bright that you can see a lot of stars. They seem so close it's like you can touch them. And I'm pretty sure that that must be the Big Dipper there," he pointed to some random stars, pretending to know what he was talking about.

Grace knew that her dad wasn't sitting there because he wanted to watch the stars, because, in fact, before she entered the lanai, she was watching him, so she saw that he was staring anywhere but at the night sky above his head, however, she went with it as she didn't want to push him. She looked up to the sky, too. "Yeah," she smiled, knowing her dad had no clue about the star shapes. "It's really nice," she agreed while staring at the sky. "It's almost as bright as that night when we went camping, you remember?" 

Danny looked at her, disbelieving. "I'm sorry? Of course I do remember," he replied, pretending that the idea of his daughter thinking he would've forgotten such an important moment he had the chance to spend with her was hurting his feelings. "And so you know, I still have the Wilderness Survival patch you gave me," he smiled at her. "You do?" she asked, surprised. "Sure I do," he said proudly. "It's the best gift you've ever given me, you know?" he reassured. "Really?" she chuckled. "Yeah, really. And you know what?" he asked. "What?" she smiled, curious. "I tell you something, but you gotta promise me you're not gonna tell anybody, okay?" he demanded, raising his finger. "Okay, I promise," she nodded, chuckling even more. "Good," Danny said and, before he continued, he looked around, pretending he was making sure that it was just the two of them sitting there with no one else around. "With all the deepest respect I have for the Queen of England," he said quietly, "that patch that you gave me..." he leaned to the side to whisper to her ear, "to me, that patch means much, much more than that award we were given by the Queen herself, you know?" he said, referring to the George Cross Award he, Steve and Harry Langford were given back in London few years ago. "I would say it's.. It's incomparable," he smiled and watching his beloved daughter blushing, smiling and shyly lowering her eyes made his heart warm. 

"But, um, actually, I was kind of hoping that, maybe, you and the other girls would forget that trip, you know?" he said after a moment, laughing a little. After all, the innocent camping trip with Aloha Girls he and Steve were accompanying seven years ago turned not so good when an armed man took Steve and Lucy, Grace's friend and one of Aloha Girls' members, hostage. Not to mention, that Danny got shot. Again. 

This time it was Grace who looked at her dad in disbelief. "Dad, are you kidding? The whole trip was just amazing! And besides, it's one of those pretty cool stories I can tell my friends now."

"Yeah, I bet it is," Danny nodded as he lowered his sight and smirked a little, remembering this was exactly what Steve meant when he told him that those little girls were never, ever going to forget such an unique and thrilling experience.

Grace hesitated for a moment, but then she broke the silence. "Danno?"

"Hmmm?"

"Can I ask you something?" she said carefully, almost apologetically.

"What kind of question is that? Of course you can, Monkey," Danny reassured. "What's going on?" 

He could tell that whatever his daughter was going to ask was obviously hurting her. And he was right. She may have found the courage to tell her dad what was bothering her mind, but she didn't have the strength to let him see the sadness that was shining in her eyes, so she was rather looking down while she was speaking. "You think that Uncle Steve's never coming back, don't you? I mean, back home... here... to us...?" She said and finally looked at her dad, despite being afraid of what she was going to see in his eyes, afraid of the answer she was going to get.

"Oh, Monkey," Danny sighed and took a hold of her left hand with his right hand. Seeing the sadness in Grace's beautiful eyes, hearing the pain in her soft voice, it was breaking his heart. "I, uh, I don't know, honey. I really don't know," he tried to keep his voice steady despite his heart was shattering. He pressed her hand tightly. "Baby, I wish I could tell you I'm sure he is certainly coming back home and that he's coming back home, soon. I wish more than anything I could promise you that, but, uh..." he practically apologized. "I mean, Uncle Steve said it's not goodbye forever, so, uh... We gotta give him some time, okay? We gotta hope, right?" he smiled, trying to comfort her, to encourage her, to give her something to hold on.

"Hmmm," Grace agreed and remained silent at first. "But you don't believe it," she said after a moment as she could read her dad. She knew what he was doing. But she didn't need him to protect her. She needed him to be honest with her. No false - even if comforting - hopes. Only honest - even if painful - answers.

Danny took a deep breath and frowned as he felt sudden pain was gripping his chest. But at this point, it was hard to tell whether it was because of the gunshot wound or because of the anxiety he felt. Probably both.

"Grace..." he sighed as he honestly didn't want to answer the question and carefully repositioned himself in his chair, still holding his daughter's hand.

"Dad, please," she said calmly. She already knew the answer, but she just wanted to hear it. She wanted her dad to admit it not only to her, but to himself, too.

Clearing his throat, Danny realized he didn't have a choice. "No," he sighed. "I don't... I don't think... I don't believe he's ever coming back, honey," he admitted his deepest thoughts. "I think that, uh... that so much bad has happened to Uncle Steve here that he's not gonna have the need to come back, you know? To open up the wounds, to relive it all over again... You know, he was really very hurt when he left. I mean, he obviously wasn't happy here anymore. And we want Uncle Steve to be happy, right, Monkey?"

Silently nodding, Grace looked down as she didn't want her dad to see the tears forming in her eyes. The fact that she already knew what her dad was going to say didn't mean that hearing it would make it hurt less. "Does it mean he wasn't happy being with us?" she asked sadly and the hurt in her voice was so obvious. "That we were not worth to being said goodbye, too? I thought he loved us... I thought he loved you..."

"Grace..." Danny semi-whispered compassionately. He felt the pain in his chest was back and he was hundred percent sure that this time the cause of it was not physical, but emotional. "Honey," he sighed sadly, "I know he should say goodbye to you. I know. But the fact he didn't... I mean, it was not the right thing to do and I don't want to defend him, but... You know Uncle Steve. You know him. And I know that, despite what he did, how abruptly he left, you know how much he loves you, how much he cares about you and about your little brother, right? And I also know, that deep down you know that he wouldn't do that if he was feeling okay, right? I think... I think that he had to be really very unhappy here that he felt he needed to leave so very quickly, you know? And the fact that he is somewhere far away doesn't mean that he loves you two the less, because... I know he does love you very, very much. And he would've never, ever, at any circumstances, intentionally hurt you. He would've always protect you. I want you to remember that, Grace, okay?" Danny pleaded. "I want you to always remember that."

Still looking down, Grace nodded in agreement. She wanted to understand. She needed to understand. And she really tried, however, there was still something bothering her mind. "I don't get it. Why aren't you mad at him? I mean, you should be angry at least a little bit..."

"Why I am not..." Danny sighed. "Well," he cleared his throat, "I'm not gonna lie, honey. Of course, that one part of me is really, really mad at him. And that a lot. But, uh... I think that... that the fact that you get mad at someone you love doesn't make you love that person less. You still care about that person. You still want that person to be happy, right?"

Grace nodded. "But what about you? I want you to be happy, too, Danno," she said and looked up to her dad which allowed him to see a single tear falling down on his daughter's beautiful but sad face. 

Despite Danny somehow managed to keep his brave face on, he wanted to cry, to scream, to punch something. Or someone. Right now, he hated Steve. He hated himself. God, he felt so unbelievably helpless. Grace was still his little girl and his job was to always protect her, not to hurt her. And even if in his mind Danny knew that it was Steve and his sudden leave without saying a single word that had hurt his children, in Danny's heart, it felt very different. It was him who had to explain to them, who had to comfort them, who had to see them being sad and hurt. It was Danny's heart that was being broken all over again. Not to mention that he felt he was the reason for Steve's sudden leave. And therefore actually the reason his kids were heartbroken. 

"Gracie," he sighed as he released his hand from their grip to wipe the tear from her cheek and looked into her eyes. "Who says I'm not, Monkey?" he asked softly and despite his effort, his voice began to break. "I have you, I have your little brother... And that's all I need. Because, when I'm with the two of you, I swear, there is no happier man in the whole world than I am," he reassured. "Not even in the whole galaxy," he smiled at her. "Believe me." Grace smiled back at him. She didn't doubt her dad's words to be true, but she also knew that it meant that when they weren't around, Danny was the saddest man neither in the whole world, nor in the whole galaxy, but in the whole universe. She kicked off her slippers and drew her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees. Watching her, Danny frowned. "Don't you wanna go inside, honey?" he asked concernedly. "No, I'm not cold. I'm fine," she reassured, but Danny didn't have to think twice and took the blanket off his right shoulder to wrap it around her shoulders, too, embracing her.

"It just feels like when Uncle Matty left us," Grace suddenly admitted. 

Danny himself was thinking about his little brother a lot, and especially lately, but it hurt like hell to get to know that his own daughter had almost the same thoughts and that she also felt probably the same. "But I guess this is worse," she added sadly after a moment and her revelation took Danny aback. "Why-why worse?" he asked softly, carefully. "Because I would never think that Uncle Steve will leave us like this one day, too," she admitted. "I mean," she continued as she was looking into the distance, "I remember Uncle Matty was always suddenly appearing and disappearing..." she explained. "Yeah," Danny nodded with a nostalgic smile, "that's actually why I was calling him Hurricane Matt, you know?" he laughed a little. Remembering the nickname and the fact that her generous Uncle was always spoiling her with too many toys, Grace smiled, too. But few seconds later, the smile on her face disappeared. "But Uncle Steve... He just... He was just always here for us. For all these years, he's been here, and..." she said, unable to finish the sentence, and rested her head on her knees, her arms still wrapped around them.

Danny licked his lips and sighed. "I know, Monkey, I know. But, uh," he cleared his throat and sighed again, trying to come up with something logical, but he really didn't know what to say. "Sometimes, people just come into your life, sometimes they leave... I guess that's how life works, you know? Only a very, very few people are staying all the time. And I think that, um, that, probably at some point in life, that, I don't know, maybe some people needs a break. You know, to be a little bit selfish for a while, to think about what they really want to do... or maybe finally do what they want to do, to take some time just for themselves... And like you said, Uncle Steve was here for us all those years. And not only for us, but also for a lot of other people, and he probably wasn't taking care of himself as much as he should, so... You know, thinking about it, we can be really grateful for all those years we spent together, right?" he smiled at Grace who was listening very carefully. 

"I know. And I am," she reassured. "Good. That's good," Danny smiled, feeling relieved as he didn't want his kids to hold a grudge against their favorite Uncle. 

"I love you, Danno," she said softly after a moment.

"I love you, too, Monkey," Danny reassured and pulled her closer to his side to place a kiss into her dark hair. Grace rested her head on Danny's right shoulder. "It's going to be okay," he promised, remembering those were the exact same words Steve told him on the beach, back then when they were saying their goodbyes. And despite Danny didn't believe it was going to be okay ever again, he was hoping his daughter felt differently about it. 

Resting his right cheek on the top of her daughter's head, Danny looked up to the night sky. Maybe he did it just to really watch the stars. Or maybe he did it to blink away the tears that were forming in his eyes. Or maybe he did it because he prayed to be given enough strength. Or maybe he did it because he was wondering whether Steve, wherever he was right now, was thinking about them, watching the same night sky, the same stars, too.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave a comment (positive or negative, everything counts), I'm really curious what you think :-)


End file.
